Acerliner 502
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The heart of the perfect office is of course the stapler, and the Acerliner 502 is a gem. I found mine hidden away in a box of old equipment while working for a previous employer. After a bit of cleaning it took up residence on my desk, much to the amusement of many colleagues who thought it well past its prime.
Little did they know that the Aceliner is a solid machine, dealing with the heaviest paper with ease; but then their low opinion of the Aceliner meant it never got removed from my desk while I wasn't looking, and resulted in my boss telling me to take it when I left that position.
The important thing for me though was that it has character, with a great art deco looking curved plastic top moulding, and a matching round plastic centre insert in the tab of the spring loading mechanism. It's a very comfortable stapler to use both in hand and on the desk top.
The basic look of the Aceliner 502 is first patented under patent number 2311412, entitled Feed mechanism for stapling machines, which was awarded to William G. Pankonin of Chicago, IL on February 16, 1943, though the patent includes an unconventional feed mechanism. A more recognizable approach to the feed mechanism is shown in patent number 2832959, entitled Stapling device, which was awarded to Pankonin on May 6, 1958.
The Aceliner is still available on some stationary sites, in green, red, and also earlier Bakelite faux tortoise shell in a variety of colours.